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Transforming Traditional Teaching Practices with21st Century Skills in K-12 ClassroomsCasey McGuireSt. Cloud State University, [email protected]

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Transforming Traditional Teaching Practices with 21st Century

Skills in K-12 Classrooms

by

Casey McGuire

A Portfolio Paper

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of

St. Cloud State University

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree

Master of Science in

Information Media: Technology Integration

May, 2018

Portfolio Committee:

Kristen Carlson, Chairperson

Jane Gottfried

Susan Haller

2

Abstract

This portfolio seeks to explore the four C’s of 21st-century learning: critical thinking,

communication, collaboration, and creativity. Utilizing academic journals and online resources

specifically centered on the four C’s, this paper seeks to provide learners with definitive

examples of what the four C’s look like in K-12 education, as well as provide educators with

specific examples of how these skills can be enhanced in K-12 classrooms today. This portfolio

examines academic journals regarding 21st century skills, as well as provides training materials

that can be used to develop a better understanding of the four C’s for K-12 educators. This

portfolio also provides educators with specific websites and applications that can be utilized in

the classroom to transform their own teaching practices.

Keywords: communication, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, Web 2.0, 21st

century skills

3

Table of Contents

Page

List of Table .......................................................................................................................... 5

List of Slides ......................................................................................................................... 6

Chapter

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 9

Theme ................................................................................................................. 9

Problem Statement .............................................................................................. 11

Significance ......................................................................................................... 12

Definition of Terms ............................................................................................. 13

Summary ............................................................................................................. 14

2. Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 15

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 15

Methodology ....................................................................................................... 15

Analysis of Literature ......................................................................................... 16

Concerns Regarding 21st Century Skills ............................................................. 23

Gaps in Research ................................................................................................. 26

Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 27

3. Description of Products ............................................................................................. 29

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 29

Description of Products ....................................................................................... 29

Audience Analysis .............................................................................................. 30

4

Chapter Page

Teaching 21st Century Skills Course ................................................................... 31

Websites and Applications Google Sheet ........................................................... 32

Application of Products ...................................................................................... 33

Data Needed ........................................................................................................ 33

Application of Products ...................................................................................... 34

Timeline .............................................................................................................. 34

Summary ............................................................................................................. 35

4. Tangible Products ..................................................................................................... 36

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 36

Product I-UDUTU Course .................................................................................. 36

Product II-Google Sheets Reference Manual ..................................................... 54

5. Reflections ................................................................................................................ 57

References ............................................................................................................................. 61

Appendices

A. Staff Survey Results .................................................................................................. 63

B. BrightBytes Survey 2017-Albany Area Schools ...................................................... 75

C. ISTE Standards for Educators ................................................................................... 78

5

List of Table

Table Page

2.1 Guiding Principles for Digital Literacy .................................................................... 25

6

List of Slides

Slide Page

1. Introduction to course ............................................................................................... 37

2. Recognition of the NEA ............................................................................................ 38

3. Learning outcomes .................................................................................................... 38

4. What are the 4 C’s? ................................................................................................... 38

5. Importance of the 4 C’s ............................................................................................. 39

6. The Four C’s ............................................................................................................. 39

7. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 39

8. Learning theories ...................................................................................................... 40

9. Behaviorism .............................................................................................................. 40

10. Behaviorism (contd) .................................................................................................. 40

11. Cognitivism ............................................................................................................... 41

12. Cognitivism (contd) .................................................................................................. 41

13. Constructivism .......................................................................................................... 41

14. Constructivism (contd) .............................................................................................. 42

15. Finding balance ......................................................................................................... 42

16. Old Wine in New Bottles Syndrome ........................................................................ 42

17. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 43

18. Communication introduction .................................................................................... 43

19. Definition of communication .................................................................................... 43

20. Comfortability ........................................................................................................... 44

7

Slide Page

21. Different media platforms ......................................................................................... 44

22. Effective listening ..................................................................................................... 44

23. Clear communication ................................................................................................ 45

24. Diverse environments ............................................................................................... 45

25. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 46

26. Classroom implementation ....................................................................................... 46

27. Collaboration introduction ........................................................................................ 46

28. Collaboration definition ............................................................................................ 47

29. Working with others ................................................................................................. 47

30. Flexibility .................................................................................................................. 47

31. Sharing responsibility ............................................................................................... 48

32. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 48


34. Critical thinking introduction .................................................................................... 49

35. Critical thinking definition ........................................................................................ 49

36. Ability to reason ........................................................................................................ 49

37. Comparing evidence ................................................................................................. 50

38. Decision making ....................................................................................................... 50

39. Problem solving ........................................................................................................ 50

40. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 51


8

Slide Page

42. Creativity introduction .............................................................................................. 51

43. Creativity definition .................................................................................................. 52

44. Innovation ................................................................................................................. 52

45. Blending communication and critical thinking ......................................................... 52

46. Assessment ................................................................................................................ 53


48. Additional resources ................................................................................................. 53

49. Next steps .................................................................................................................. 54

9

Chapter 1: Introduction

Theme

For today’s learners, 21st century skill development has become a necessity in order to be

successful in the future following graduation. For educators, these skills have become the focal

point of best practices in instruction and education. Although the emphasis of 21st century skills

on K-12 learners has been around since the 1980s and 1990s (Brusic, & Shearer, 2014, p. 7),

they have been taking education throughout the world by storm with the emergence of new

technologies and innovative tools for the classroom. Focusing on communication, critical

thinking, collaboration, and creativity, 21st century skills are increasingly being emphasized in

classrooms around the globe. Danah Henriksen, Punya Mishra, and Petra Fisser, authors of

“Infusing Creativity and Technology in 21st Century Education” (2016) claim that “new

technologies have altered teaching and learning rapidly, with innovations and affordances for

creating and sharing ideas and content” (p. 27). With so much attention centered on the

development of these skills, questions have arisen regarding the validity of utilizing certain

technologies in the classroom to incorporate these skills, and how these practices compare to

more traditional practices given the relatively small amount of data collected in recent years in

support of 21st-century learning. For example, educators may question how one can assess

growth, when skills such as creativity or communication are being measured in comparison to

hard data which assesses information the learner may or may not have understood.

Education, whether it be at the elementary, secondary, or post-secondary level, has

transformed since the development of Web 2.0, an internet platform that moves beyond

providing information, and gives users a participatory platform to communicate and interact

(Funk, 2009, pp. 48-51). With this transformation of available information, educators have an

10

obligation to shift their teaching focus from low-level thinking to higher order thinking in order

for learners to be successful. The four skills considered to be 21st century skills include

communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. It is these four skills that scholars

believe to be essential in order for learners to be successful in their future careers (Brusic &

Shearer, 2014, p. 7).

There will be two projects within this portfolio that focus on how to successfully

implement 21st century skills in the classroom for both elementary and secondary educators.

Collectively, these projects will develop an introductory curriculum for teaching these four skills

in the classroom. The first project, will be a learning module developed to inform educators of

the importance of incorporating 21st century skills, while highlighting the significance of

educators transforming their methods of instruction in order to develop these skills. After

introducing the four skills and their importance for learners outside of school walls, there will be

specific examples provided that educators can utilize in their classroom to not only enhance these

skills, but also ease the transformation of their teaching methods.

The second project will serve as a reference manual for educators who may want to

reference further resources to help enhance their teaching. This reference manual will also serve

as a tool for educators who are already implementing 21st-century teaching in their classroom,

but may want to take their teaching of these skills a step further. Utilizing ISTE, the International

Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators, the reference manual will connect

specific examples to each individual 21st century skill. Not only will this help to provide validity

to the curriculum, but also provide educators with focus strands that they feel they may need the

most support for.

11

This portfolio seeks to develop resources available for educators to encourage the

integration of 21st century learning skills in their classrooms through the creation of a two-part,

themed curriculum. According to ISTE, it is the responsibility of the educator to design

authentic, learner-drive activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner

variability (International Society for Technology in Education (2000), standard 5) The themes

incorporated into this curriculum aim to develop strategies and resources for educators to provide

their learners with in order to develop 21st century skills for individual learners which will

promote future success after their time in the classroom.

Problem Statement

Web 2.0 tools are transforming student learning from a one size fits all method of

instruction, to a dynamic, engaging, and constructive environment for learners, thus allowing

them to enhance 21st century skills; including: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and

communication (Brusic & Shearer, 2014, p. 7). Although many of these tools have been in

practice for years, concerns regarding student authenticity, lack of social development, and

traditional teaching practices being blanketed by deficient technology use has raised concern

about the proper development of skills for today’s learners (Brusic & Shearer, 2014, p. 8). The

increasing demand for educators to transform their classrooms to meet the needs of their learners

is not only inevitable, but critical in the development of our global economy (Bell, 2010, p. 39).

In support of this critical development of skills for the future, Siu Cheung (2014) states “It is

foreseen that in the coming 10 years, the school education sector over the world has to get ready

for the creation of digital classrooms which support learners to effectively develop 21st century

skills through the day-to-day learning process” (p. 71). For example, educators can often find

12

themselves in struggling to truly transform their traditional classrooms to supportive 21st-century

environments, raising eyebrows in relation to what is known as “Old Wine in New Bottles

Syndrome”. According to Anastasia Gouseti, an instructor of education at the University of

London, Old Wine in New Bottles Syndrome takes place “where ‘school literacy routines have a

new technology tacked on here or there’ without, however, bringing any substantial change to

traditional practices” (Gouseti, 2013). Simply adding technology to the same lessons and

practices is not sufficient in the development of the 21st century skills.

With schools continuing to encourage educators to move beyond standardized assessment

and develop more innovative practices, the incorporation of these skills are essential in preparing

learners to be successful not just in the classroom but in their everyday lives. As stated by Laura

Hummell, former president of the Children’s Council,

. . . students who are allowed to explore, empathize, question, hypothesize,

conceptualize, experiment, and evaluate throughout their own learning become

productive community members. Forming an opinion and being able to rationally

and reasonably defend one’s opinions are skills that are keys to being successful.

(2016, p. 5)

Significance

The 21st century skills movement centers on developing lifelong learners who are

prepared for life and work after graduation. According to Sharon A. Brusic and Korbin L.

Shearer, members of the Department of Applied Engineering, Safety and Technology at

Millersville University of Pennsylvania, 21st-Century proponents “have been advocating for

local, state, and federal policies and support that would enable all schools to better prepare

learners to live and work in 21st-century communities” since 2002 (2014, p. 7). Students today

need to prepare for becoming members of a global society in which technology and media are

13

valuable resources (Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2012, p. 21). The importance of this

classroom transformation is addressed in the ISTE standards for Educators, which state:

“Educators will continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and

exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning”

(International Society for Technology in Education, 2000, standard 1). This study will be

significant because it will not only help to provide educators with detailed definitions regarding

each 21st century skill, but will also provide them with examples that they can use to transform

their classroom into an environment that supports the development of 21st century skills while

providing them with multiple resources to do so.

Definition of Terms

Communication: The exchange of information that primarily focuses on writing and

composition including grammar and punctuation, as well as oral speech (Breslow, 2015, pp. 423-

424).

Collaboration: The use of communicative skills to accomplish a common goal through

productive communication, respect for others, and teamwork while generating ideas together

(Bell, 2010, p. 41).

Creativity: A process and/or a product, and is generally thought of as the production of

useful solutions to problems, or novel and effective ideas (Amabile, 1996, as referenced in

Henriksen et al., 2016, p. 28).

14

Critical thinking: Problem solving where students are able to move beyond lower-order

thinking and engage in much deeper and applicable thought which can be applied to the real

world (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012, p. 10).

Web 2.0: The internet platform that moves beyond providing information, and gives

users a participatory platform to communicate and interact (Funk, 2009, pp. 48-51).

21st century skills: The implementation of communication, collaboration, creativity, and

critical thinking in learning (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012, p. 10).

4 C’s: The four skills referred to interchangeably with 21st century skills, including

communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.

Summary

This portfolio will benefit both educators and learners as it focuses on student

achievement in the classroom through the implementation of 21st century skills. By developing a

21st century skills curriculum it will not only provide learners with the opportunities to prepare

necessary skills for success in their careers, but will also help educators transform their teaching

from masking old teaching practices with technology, to truly dynamic practices. Chapter 2 will

contain a literature review that focuses on 21st century skills and the importance of teaching them

in classrooms around the world. Chapter 3 will describe in detail the proposed projects which

will collectively create a 21st century skills curriculum for educators.

15

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

The focus of this literature review will be defining the four components of 21st century

skills, while addressing three major concerns regarding how to incorporate these skills into

mainstream classrooms: student authenticity, educator best practices, and social development.

This chapter attempts to provide specific definitions and examples of these four skills, while also

discussing the challenges of implementing such skills, as well as the current demands for the

implementation in K-12 education according to ISTE and TIM, the Technology Integration

Matrix.

Methodology

Articles collected for the completion of research were primarily retrieved through

EBSCO host as well as Google Scholar and JSTOR. Keywords for collecting researching

include: 21st century skills, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication,

authenticity, social development, effectiveness, pedagogy, e-learning, literacies, implementation,

and assessment. These focuses were chosen to develop a sound database of information that

would not only focus on the definitions of 21st century skills, but also different methods of

implementation and assessment in schools throughout the world. Because research regarding the

topic of 21st century skills is still very much in a developmental phase, the majority of articles

were written between 2013 and 2016, with the most dated article written in 2010. Although the

articles are fairly recent, many contain references to studies dating back to the 1980s, which

provided perspective of the early stages of 21st century skill development, primarily focusing on

how these skills are implemented in a traditional classroom setting. Information was also

16

gathered from the Technology Integration Matrix, a project of the Florida Center for

Instructional Technology as well as ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education.

Analysis of Literature

There are multiple theories that are observed within K-12 education in relation to student

learning. Behaviorism, which emerged in the 1950s from B. F. Skinner’s scientific studies of

observable behavior, provides educators with a learning approach that requires them to base

instruction off of what they observe from the learner from direct instruction (Smaldino et al.,

2012, pp. 21-22). This theory, which primarily consists of educators utilizing more drill and

practice methods in the classroom, focuses on what students are internalizing based on their

behavior in class (Smaldino et al., 2012, p. 22). For example, an educator may use a lecture style

approach in their instruction and base students understanding on how they respond through oral

responses or body language. Because of this, behaviorism has limited application to higher-level

thinking skills (p. 22). According to Smaldino et al. (2012) behaviorists simply state that practice

strengthens the response to stimulus (p. 22). Thus, behaviorist approaches do not support the

development of 21st century skills that are necessary for learners’ future success in society.

Essentially, this theory paints the picture of the traditional classroom, where students are

introduced to new materials and expected to digest that material through practices such as

memorization and regurgitating information as a form of mastery.

Cognitivism, which incorporates deeper skill development than the behaviorist approach,

requires learners to rehearse material until it moves from short-term memory storage to long term

memory storage. According to the work of psychologist Jean Piaget in 1977 (Smaldino et al.,

2012), “Cognitivism explores the mental processes individuals use in responding to their

17

environment- that is, how people think, solve problems, and make decisions.” (p. 22).

Essentially, learners are rehearsing information until it is stored into long-term memory, thus

providing them with the skills to deal with more complex scenarios in the future (Smaldino et al.,

2012, p. 22). While this theory provides learners with a more in-depth approach to their learning,

it does not full develop 21st century skills that are essential for life post-graduation. As stated in

Smaldino et al. (2012):

Many would suggest that the cognitivist approach to instruction is a good

compromise between required benchmarks, those standards against which students

tested, and metacognition, thinking about one’s own learning. (p. 22)

The constructivist theory, a more recent movement that moves beyond behaviorism and

cognitivism, aligns well with 21st century skills as it seeks to provide learners with opportunities

to take control of their own learning and develop more personal skills. According to Smaldino et

al. (2012):

Constructivists emphasize that learners create their own interpretations of the world

of information. They argue that students situate the learning experience within their

own experiences and that the goal of instruction is not to teach information but to

create conditions in which students can interpret information for their own

understanding. (p. 22)

Constructivist classrooms parallel 21st-century classrooms as they are looking to develop

students’ skills to think critically and solve real-world issues in the classroom.

Although there has been much deliberation on what skills technically qualify as “21st

century skills”, the four primary skills that the 21st-century focuses on are: communication,

critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity (Brusic & Shearer, 2014, p. 7). The researchers

stated that these four skills have become the focal point of educational development in the past 2

decades, and have created a surging demand for educators to re-evaluate their practices and

18

transform their classrooms into learner-centric, self-directed learning spaces that provide learners

with individualistic approaches to their learning. 21st century skills have been categorized into

three domains of competence: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal (Hilton, 2015).

The cognitive domain involves reasoning and memory; the intrapersonal domain

includes the capacity to manage one’s behavior and emotions to achieve one’s

goals; and the interpersonal domain which involves expressing ideas and

interpreting and responding to messages from others. (p. 64)

These three domains establish the basic principles of 21st century skills not only focus on the

learner’s ability to learn new information, but to take that information and apply it to real-life

situations where they can incorporate their own creativity and work with others to accomplish a

common goal. The focus on 21st century skills in schools across the globe are an effort to better

prepare students not only become better employees and consumers in the future, but also better

citizens (Brusic & Shearer, 2014, p. 7). According to ISTE, “Educators should inspire students to

positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world.” (International Society

for Technology in Education. (2000), standard 3).

The promotion of these skills has led to the joined partnerships schools, companies, and

communities. The combined efforts of these groups are known as Partnership for 21st Century

Skills, also known as P21 (Brusic & Shearer, 2014, p. 7).

According to Sharon A. Brusic and Korbin L. Schearer (2014):

This effort aims to link core subjects with new content or themes that are often

underrepresented in schools, including global awareness, financial, economic,

business, and entrepreneurial literacy, civic literacy, health and wellness awareness,

and environmental literacy. It also emphasizes life and career skills, learning and

innovation skills, and information, media, and technology skills. (p. 7)

The efforts of these schools and communities to increase the skills of today’s youth have

led to a global demand for schools to develop new content or themes, all the while incorporating

19

them into their mainstream courses. The four themes listed below seek to specifically define each

21st century skill, as well as provide examples to how these can be implemented in the

classroom. Within each theme, the challenges of implementing such skills are also provided.

Communication. Communication skills in the 21st century look significantly different

than they did before the introduction to social media, cellular phones, and the transformation of

Web 2.0. Communication takes on many forms that primarily focus on writing and composition

including grammar and punctuation (Breslow, 2015, p. 423). However, communication skills

have significantly changed since the booming development of new technologies.

According to Kurt F. Geisinger (2016):

The curricula of the last century could not have anticipated the rapid advancement

of cellular technology, capacity, and proliferation across the world community, or

that the Internet would make global communications virtually instantaneous as well

as inexpensive. (p. 246)

Shifting students learning and thinking also relies on shifting their styles and forms of

communication as well. Learners today not only have knowledge at their fingertips with

technology, but their forms of communication are changing dramatically with instant access and

growing social media platforms. Thus, it becomes a task of educators to develop courses in

communication. As suggested by Lori Breslow, a Sloan School of Management professor from

MIT, “Courses in communication can also be about the forms and effects of web based

communication, particularly social media” (2015, p. 424).

Because there has been such a significant increase in the amount of available

technologies throughout society, there are new adaptations that need to be made in the efforts of

communication development amongst learners. Communication, however, does not just fall on

the English/Language Arts educators. Developing communication skills in learners carries

20

responsibilities for all educators, regardless of content area, in order to provide learners with the

opportunity to develop communication skills that move beyond grammar and punctuation.

Critical thinking. Critical thinking is listed as one of the four 21st century skills, but

what exactly does critical thinking mean, and what does it look like? Critical thinking, often

referred to as problem solving, is when learners are able to move beyond lower-order thinking

and engage in much deeper and applicable thought which can be applied to the real world

(Saavedra & Opfer, 2012, p. 10). This higher-order level of thinking naturally demands that

educators transform their teaching to help develop learners’ ability to take their learning into

their own hands. Part of developing critical thinking skills is to teach learners how to learn on

their own (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012, p. 10). One solution that educators have found to

incorporating higher-order thinking skills is the flipped instruction model, which comprises of

educators developing curriculum where learners can read content or watch lectures at home, and

use class time to pose thought-provoking questions and create more relatable scenarios to

students’ lives in the classroom. Though one example of many, the flipped instruction model is

an example of how educators can transform their classrooms to provide more enriching and

elevated thinking skills to develop critical thinking skills for the future. This is not to say that

educators lose their place in the classroom, though. Jim Greenlaw (2015), a professor from the

University of Ontario, Institute of Technology emphasizes the important role that educators play,

even in a highly technological environment.

According to Greenlaw (2015):

Teaching is not simply a matter of turning on a computer or an iPad and setting

students loose to solve a problem or to do a project. Because of the increasing

challenges created by information overload, educators still need to provide direct

instruction about the patterns students may need to consider, the historical

21

background of a problem, or the theoretical perspectives that might help the students

to make sense of the information they are gathering and interpreting. (p. 897)

Creativity. According to Anna Rosefsky Saavedra, an associate policy research at

RAND education and V. Darleen Opfer, direction of RAND education (2012), “Creativity is

prized in the economic, civic, and global spheres because it sparks innovations that can create

jobs, address challenges, and motivate social and individual progress” (p. 12). Teaching learners

how to recognize their creative abilities and their capacity to develop themselves is the

responsibility of the 21st-century educator. It can open doors for students when they embark upon

their professional endeavors (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012, p. 12). Why such emphasis has been

placed on the rejuvenation of creativity in the classroom can be attributed to the development of

standardized testing the classroom. Because standardized testing has pushed educators to “drill

and practice” tendencies, the ability for students to become more creative with their learning has

been limited (Henriksen et al., 2016, p. 28). By encouraging the increased incorporation of

creativity in the classroom, students will be able to unleash ideas and solutions to real world

problems which can enhance their ability to contribute to society as adults.

Collaboration. Perhaps the one 21st century skill that seems most versatile and vital of

them all is collaboration. The ability of learners to work together and collaborate with one

another to accomplish a goal not only enhances the learner’s ability to socially connect with

others, but also learn the importance of teamwork and shared responsibilities. Collaboration

encompasses all three of the previous skills, for learners are required to use their communicative

skills to accomplish a common goal, move beyond low-level thinking skills where the result does

not necessarily have a definitive answer, and to appreciate others creativity as well as their own

in order to accomplish a task. Through collaboration, “students learn the fundamental skills of

22

productive communication, respect for others, and teamwork while generating ideas together”

(Bell, 2010, p. 41). With progress in technology, learners are not only able to collaborate face-to-

face with learners in their classroom, but are also able to connect with learners around the globe

that they otherwise would not have the ability to connect with. One of the most important aspects

to successful collaboration amongst learners is the amount of accountability that it brings.

Stephanie Bell, an elementary educator in New York and doctoral student of Instructional

Leadership at Western Connecticut State University claimed the following (2010):

When students work collaboratively, there is an expectation that each child will

contribute to the project equally. The group dynamic creates an interdependent team

in which students must each do their part, and as a result, a natural consequence exists

for those students who do not demonstrate accountability—others may no longer

want to be paired with students who do not do their fair share. Therefore, peer

pressure contributes to the accomplishment of ongoing group tasks throughout the

learning process and the culmination of a successful final product. (p. 40)

When learners are held accountable for their work, knowing that the success of the group relies

on their contributions, the level of motivation thus increase and provides learners with the

opportunity to contribute their own thoughts and ideas to a project or task. According to

Smaldino et al. (2012):

By using collaborative learning tools such as classroom blogs, wikis, social

networking resources, and learning management systems, [educators] can help 21st-

century learners move through the various levels of learning appropriate to their goals,

the state learning standards, and expected outcomes. (p. 25)

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM), a project developed for the Florida Center for

Instructional Technology, lists five levels of collaboration: entry level, adoption level, adaption

level, infusion level, transformation level. Within these levels, educators should aim to transform

student collaboration skills from the individual student’s ability to use collaboration tools, to the

23

student being able to collaborate with peers and outside resources in ways not possible without

technology (The Technology Integration Matrix (2005-2017).

Concerns Regarding 21st Century Skills

One common concern regarding the emphasis of 21st century skills in the classroom is the

adaptation of educators to a new style of teaching. ‘Old Wine in New Bottles Syndrome’ refers

to the implementation of technology, without transforming the teaching practice (Gouseti, 2013,

p. 571). Many educators find that replacing their current lesson plans or curriculum with a

technology, rather than paper and pencil, is a form of being innovative. The concern then

becomes, how do educators best prepare to provide learners with opportunities to enhance their

21st-century learning, when they themselves cannot? Regarding this concern, there are five major

principles that have been established that can not only help to guide educators in their quest for

transformation, but also can set many nervous minds at ease as far as the steep learning curve

that many educators may feel regarding 21st century skills (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, p.

289). These principles, developed by Rachel Karchmer-Klein, an associate professor in the

School of Education at the University of Delaware, Newark and Valerie Hawlow Shinas, a

doctoral student in literacy education at the University of Delaware Newark in 2012, serve as a

guide for educators who are looking to enhance their 21st-century teaching practices.

The first principle, Keep Your Eye on the Moving Target, stresses the importance of

responding and adjusting your teaching to emerging technologies. While it is nearly impossible

to keep up with new technologies that emerge almost daily, they recommend that educators

simply do their best to keep up with any new tools that may present themselves and be useful to

their classroom (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, p. 289). The second principle, Recognize the

24

Complexity of New Literacies, recommends that educators not only take time to teach the

importance of giving credit to traditionally printed text, but also teaching learners how to

properly give credit to electronic sources, multimedia sources, and more (Karchmer-Klein &

Shinas, 2012, p. 290). The third principle, Digital Natives Still Have a Lot to Learn, reminds

educators that while most 21st-century learners enter the classroom with sound knowledge of

technologies, often times they still need to be taught how to use them responsibly and

appropriately, and educators should never assume that learners understand how to use a certain

technology or what tools they should be using (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, p. 291). The

fourth principle, Reconsider Assessment Methods, suggests that educators adjust their traditional

assessment practices to meet the needs of 21st century skills (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012,

pp. 291-292). The final principle, Blending the Old and the New, is one that will likely resonate

with most educators, and that is to emphasize that not everything needs to be one way or the

other (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, p. 292). It serves as a good reminder that educators are

not being asked to throw away all previous forms of teaching. Incorporating 21st century skills

requires balance from educators, and remembering that not all teaching must be completely

digital, or technologically focused, does not take away from the enhancement of 21st century

skills. Many of these skills can still be enhanced with more traditional practices, but it is the

responsibility of the educator to find ways to incorporate those skills into their practice.

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Table 2.1

Guiding Principles for Digital Literacy (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, pp. 288-293)

Principle Description

Keep Your Eye on the Moving Target Be mindful of the evolution of new technologies as

they emerge. Educators should focus on their own

professional development with technology.

Recognize the Complexity of New Literacies As writers, learn the basics of how to utilize different

medias, and continue to differentiate instruction with

online and print materials.

Digital Natives Still Have a Lot to Learn Educators should suspend assumptions that all

students have technological knowledge. Develop

instruction designed to address goals and individual

needs.

Reconsider Assessment Methods Provide students with lessons targeted to areas in need

of improvement, and develop assessments that

evaluate how students use the technology to present

thoughtful and articulate responses.

Blending the Old and the New Educators should not concern themselves with

traditional practices being completely eliminated.

When well taught, new literacies can support and

extend students’ abilities to read and write for real

purposes.

Part of the responsibility of educators who find themselves in this position is to work

with their colleagues to improve their teaching skills in order to transform their classroom. In

order to do so, educators can participate in activities such as joint learning projects, topical

discussion groups, online courses, or mentoring programs (Smaldino et al., 2012, p. 27). One

important perspective for educators to keep in mind is that 21st century skills are not one size fits

all. Educators need to decide what theory best suits the particular lesson and recognize that

different theories may be applicable in different situations in order to develop a positive outlook

on the implementation of 21st century skills in their classrooms (Smaldino et al., 2012, p. 23).

Because there is such emphasis on technology in education today, there is a growing

concern regarding learner ability to interact face-to-face with others, especially when in the

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workforce. Another concern regarding social development is that, if learners are developing

these through technology, what about students around the globe who do not have access to these

types of technologies? What sort of experiences or skill developments are they missing out on?

While the increased amount of screen time and decreased amount of face-to-face interaction can

be frightening for many, the ability for learners to communicate with each other in the classroom

does not necessarily need to be done away with. As stated previously, educators who are able to

find balance within their classrooms to not only provide learners time to work using technology,

but also alongside each other, these important social skills can still be developed (Karchmer-

Klein & Shinas, 2012, p. 289). In classrooms where there is no face-to-face interaction,

collaborative resources such as Google Hangouts, FaceTime, Skype, and more, provide learners

with the ability to connect with others even when in a completely digital setting.

There is also concern regarding learner authenticity and contribution to 21st-century

work, especially in relation to providing appropriate credit when due, and contribution to

collaborative efforts without skating by for the grade. As discussed previously, 21st-century

learning not only emphasizes the amount of learner accountability due to peer pressure, but it

also presents a new level of motivation for learners to contribute when they are able to present

their own creative ideas and interests into their learning (Karchmer-Klein & Shinas, 2012, p.

289).

Gaps in Research

Since data collection and analysis on 21st century skills in the classroom is still taking

place, the amount of valid data collected is still continuing to grow as new technologies are

emerging on a consistent basis. The amount of research that has been collected on the subject is

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still in a developing stage, with limited amounts of analytical data demonstrating the successful

implementation of 21st century skills in the classroom. A second gap in research is the amount of

technology or implementation that takes place in schools across the country. Although efforts are

being made to promote school leaders to recognize the importance of incorporating 21st century

skills into their schools, the amount of emphasis on 21st century skills and e-learning integration

ranges throughout K-12 schools (Siu Cheung et al., 2014, pp. 73-74). A third gap in research is

the amount of technology that schools have available to them. Because many schools implement

multiple forms of technology, including 1:1 device initiatives, bring your own technology

initiatives, computer labs, devices carts, and more, it presents a challenge for producing evidence

of the successes regarding the types of technologies that are being utilized in schools.

Conclusion

With the emergence of new technologies rapidly increasing in schools, the demand for a

shift in teaching practices to incorporate 21st century skills are inevitable. In order for today’s

learners to be successful global citizens and future consumers, emphasis on developing 21st

century skills are critical for their future success. The ability for learners to develop strong

communication skills, critically think, incorporate their own creative ideas, and collaborate with

peers will determine their success not only as learners, but also as functioning adults in an ever-

changing global society (Smaldino et al., 2012, p. 21). Although there are many concerns

regarding the authenticity of student work, the proper development of social skills, and the

ability for the educator for properly teach these skills, 21st century skills naturally integrate

together to develop well-rounded learners in an increasingly technological society.

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The following chapter will include a description of the products to be created for this

portfolio, as well as objectives for the targeted audience of the project.

29

Chapter 3: Description of Products

Introduction

Chapter 2 examined the significance and importance of teaching 21st century skills in the

classroom for learners throughout the world. While discussing some of the critical issues in the

implementation of 21st century skills, chapter two discussed how these concerns can be

addressed for today’s educators. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the products which

will provide educators with resources to transform their classrooms into environments in which

learners can develop 21st century skills.

Description of Products

The products to be created for this portfolio include the following: an authored course

discussing and demonstrating best practices regarding 21st century skills in the classroom, and a

reference document created via Google Sheets for educators to utilize when transitioning their

own teaching practices to incorporate 21st century skills curriculum in their classroom.

Collectively, these products seek to develop a 21st century skills curriculum that is suitable for all

levels in K-12 education.

The problem addressed in this portfolio is to increase authentic student work and social

skill development through the use of technology, while transforming the teaching practices of the

educators teaching 21st century skills. The goal of this project is to encourage educators in

today’s K-12 settings to incorporate a consistent use of technology while emphasizing the

importance of 21st-century learning. Upon completion of these portfolio projects, the following

objectives will be satisfied as they are applicable to each of the three products included in the

portfolio:

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• Educators will be able to identify the four core 21st century skills, as well as define

them using specific examples that can be applied in the classroom.

• Educators will gain insight into tools that meet the needs of their classroom, with a

specific emphasis on the use of Google Drive amongst other Google tools which

especially promote collaboration and communication.

• Educators will be able to identify specific programs and/or learning tools that will

increase student engagement opportunities and authentic experiences.

Audience Analysis

The audience for this portfolio will be educators in K-12 settings who are working in

classroom settings which incorporate new technologies for learners. Audience members should

be familiar with the general implementation of technology in the classroom. This will include,

but is not limited to, the individual use of the following: iPads, Chromebooks, learning pads, or

laptop computers. Audience members should have some experience utilizing these tools in their

classrooms whether it is through 1:1 implementation, the use of computer labs, or through shared

carts. This portfolio seeks to provide education and training for those utilizing these tools in their

classroom environment. The audience motivation behind this project is for educators to

transform their teaching to meet the high demand of the implementation of 21st century skills in

today’s classrooms. Educators should have a basic understanding of 21st century skills,

including: collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking (Brusic & Searer, 2014,

p. 7). The audience members do not require previous knowledge of the use of Google Drive,

though it will be helpful in their future endeavors following the course. Level one Google

training may be needed outside of completion of the projects.

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Teaching 21st Century Skills Course

Product. This product will include a newly developed training module which focuses on

best practices for implementing 21st century skills in K-12 classrooms. The focus on the product

will include how to transform teaching with technology, rather than utilize technology merely as

a replacement for more traditional practices. The media that will be used for the Teaching 21st

Century Skills course will be developed using UDUTU, a course authoring program. Using

UDUTU will allow development to include interactive components such as matching portions,

quizzes, screencasts, videos, and audio.

Content. The content to be included in the course will include an introductory page

describing how to navigate UDUTU. Following navigation, the objectives of the course will be

included. The course will then include six main portions. The first portion will establish the

importance and need for 21st century skills in K-12 classrooms. The second portion of the

program will provide a brief history of learning theories in K-12 classrooms. This portion of the

course will provide definitions and concrete examples of the “4 C’s” used referenced with 21st

century skills. Following the definitions and examples, there will be an assessment to determine

the comprehension of the four skills. The final portion of the course will provide teachers with

reflection time on the four C’s, and will refer them to the Schoology course built for the 4 C’s

initiative in the Albany School District. The content for this project will be based off of the ISTE

(International Society for Technology in Education) standards for educators.

Process. The course will be created through UDUTU. Throughout the development stage

of the course, consultations between Albany staff as well as my advisor will be completed.

Following these consultations, any necessary changes to project or updates will be completed.

32

Relationship. Coursework and classroom designs at Albany Middle School have seen

drastic changes within the last 2 years, and will continue next year with brand new facilities,

devices, and media center. There is an increasing demand for learners to utilize their Google

Drive at school due to 1:1 device implementation at all grade levels, as well as use their devices

to enhance their 21st century skills. There are concerns amongst staff regarding learner

authenticity and social development with the increase in technology. This course will seek to

educate educators about the possibilities of incorporating 21st century skills in their classrooms,

and how they can correlate their teaching practices with the new transitions of the middle school.

This project will help to connect the increasing changes within the school to the social demands

of today’s learners possessing 21st century skills in the workforce.

Websites and Applications Google Sheet

Product. This product will be newly developed a reference manual for educators to

utilize throughout their 21st-century implementation that will serve as a troubleshooting guide as

well as a reference during their teaching transitions. This manual will be tangible for educators

and will not require full training like the 21st Century Skills course. This manual will be available

for educators to reference at any point, and will be accessible digitally. In order to do so, the

reference manual will be developed utilizing Google Docs, as this allows it to be easily

embedded into multiple programs, as well as accessed

Content. The content for this project will be based off of the ISTE (International Society

for Technology in Education) standards for educators. The content to be included in this manual

will include troubleshooting tips, ISTE standards that align with 21st century skills incorporation,

33

Google Drive help, and other resources that can help to answer specific questions they may have

regarding their teaching practices.

Process. The reference manual will be developed after interviewing educators throughout

Albany Middle School who have questions or concerns regarding utilizing 1:1 devices in class.

Following these interviews, a reference manual will be developed to answer specific questions

they may have regarding different ways to implement 1:1 devices in their classrooms, as well as

help towards issues that they have experienced throughout the past year with the new initiative.

Relationship. This reference manual will help to serve as a supportive tool that educators

can reference at any point following the completion of the Teaching 21st Century Skills course.

Application of Products

These products apply to my career objectives because I would like to serve as a

technology integrationist in a K-12 setting. I feel that 21st century skills are often underserved,

and are passed over as a “buzzword” rather than a philosophical change. I believe that these

projects collectively will help emphasize the importance of 21st century skills development in

order for learners to not only be successful throughout their time in elementary and secondary

school, but also in their career choices beyond graduation. This curriculum will promote

educator awareness to the demand of 21st century skills teaching, as well as risk-taking in

teaching approaches to meet the needs of today’s learners.

Data Needed

Student and personal data will be collected beginning in December 2017 from staff in the

Albany Area School District. The data collected will regard how often educators utilize programs

and applications that enhance 21st century skills, and how educators feel that they are

34

transforming their practices. Data will be collected through the use of anonymous surveying

utilizing Google Forms. Data will also be collected via BrightBytes, which is a survey conducted

annually throughout the Albany district to examine both educator and student use of technology

and how those skills are applied in the classroom on a daily basis.

Application of Products

The products included in this project have been designed to assist educators in K-12

classrooms to transform their current methods of teaching to incorporate 21st century skills in

order to best prepare learners for their future careers. The Google Sheets reference manual will

provide educators with a vast amount of resources and references that they can access during this

transition.

Timeline

November 2017

• Culminating project committee members agree to participate

December 2017

• Culminating project preliminary meeting with committee members

January-March 2018

• Project production and completion

• Remain in contact with committee members about project completion

April 2018

• Culminating project completed

May 2018

• Final meeting with committee members

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• Oral and written exit interview with the Information Media department

• Graduation

Summary

Both products are designed to support educator transformation to develop learners’ 21st

century skills in K-12 classrooms. The completion of the authored course, paired with the

Google Sheet of technology resources, will provide K-12 educators with a 21st century skills

resource that they can implement in their classroom at their discretion. In the following chapter,

you will find a complete description of the two products that will be produced, as well as the

description of how to implement those products in a K-12 classroom setting.

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Chapter 4: Tangible Products

Introduction

There are two projects that make up for the contents of chapter four. The first project is a

UDUTU training course developed for teachers in the Albany Area Schools District for the 4 C’s

Schoology courses that will be implemented in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year. As a part of

the school board’s innovation district goals, the 4 C’s courses will be offered to staff as an option

for obtaining continuing education credits. This training course is meant to serve all staff

members who wish to participate in the Schoology courses that will be offered as an introduction

to 21st century skills, and draw attention to which of the 4 C’s they feel they need the most

training in.

The second project is a Google Sheet that provides 40 websites and applications, which

can continuously be added to/edited, that teachers can use to develop lesson plans regarding the 4

C’s. Each website/application lists a short description of what the purpose of the website/

application is, what sort of platform they are available on, whether or not they are free or paid

subscriptions, and which of the 4 C’s they best target. The Google Sheet was developed in

collaboration with the district’s Technology Integrationist, Aileen Swenson, over the summer

during my Technology Integration internship. The final versions of these of two projects are

showcased within this chapter.

Product I-UDUTU Course

Source: https://publish.udutu.com/published/launch/75401/Course166308/Launch.html.

This course is segmented into seven different self-paced segments with narrations. The

first segment serves as an introduction to the course. Here, the learners will learn how to utilize

37

the tool bar in the top right-hand corner of the screen, what the objectives of the course are, and

an overview of the information that they are going to learn throughout the course. The second

segment of the course discusses the evolution of learning theories, highlighting the following

learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Following those segments, the

next four specifically discuss each of the 4 C’s. Within each of these segments, the 21st century

skill is broken down by definition and specific skills that are observed in the classroom, followed

by an assessment and applicable websites and apps that the teacher can use in their classroom to

enhance those skills.

Slide 1: Introduction to course

Overview of toolbar: exit, navigation, glossary,

refresh, back and next.

Narration: Welcome to the 21st century skills in

the classroom: 4 c’s training course.

Throughout this course we will discuss

definitions of the four c’s, breakdown the

different interpretations of each skill, and

provide examples of how each of these skills

can be applied to your class.

Should you need to reference a previous page

throughout the course, or should you get lost,

please refer to the “Navigate” button in the

upper right-hand corner of your screen.

The glossary is available to you throughout the

course if you would like to reference any

definitions or terms.

Should the page experience any technical

difficulties, please click the “refresh” button,

located next to the glossary icon at the top of

your screen.

You may return to a previous screen by clicking

the “back” icon, and advance to the next screen

by clicking the “next” icon.

To exit the program at any point, please hit the

X icon, titled exit, at the top of your screen.

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Slide 2: Recognition of the NEA

Specific aspects of each of the 4 C’s throughout

this course can be found in the National

Education Associations Educator’s Guide to the

4 C’s. A link to the guide will be provided at

the conclusion of the course. The guide

provides specific rubrics for individual content

areas that you may find helpful in your

evaluation of your own teaching practices.

Slide 3: Learning outcomes

Narration: After participating in this course,

learners should be able to:

Identify the 4 C’s of 21st Century Learning

Define communication, collaboration, critical

thinking, and creativity

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their

own implementation of the 4 C’s

Create a lesson plan implementing one of the

four C’s that can be utilized in their classroom

Slide 4: What are the 4 C’s?

Narration: To begin, let’s discuss what the 4

C’s include. 21st century skills, by definition,

include the implementation of communication,

collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in

learning. These four skills have increasingly

been emphasized in 21st century classrooms in

an effort to develop necessary skills for student

success outside of the classroom and in the

working world.

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Slide 5: Importance of the 4 C’s

Narration: So why are the four C’s so

important? With schools continuing to

encourage educators to move beyond

standardized assessment and develop more

innovative practices, the incorporation of these

skills are essential in preparing learners to be

successful not just in the classroom but in their

everyday lives. Laura Hummell, former

president of the Children’s Council, states that

students who are allowed to explore, empathize,

question, hypothesize, conceptualize,

experiment, and evaluate throughout their own

learning become productive community

members. Forming an opinion and being able to

rationally and reasonably defend one’s opinions

are skills that are keys to being successful.

These skills are becoming increasingly

necessary for student success in society every

day.

Slide 6: The Four C’s

Narration: It is important to recognize that the

four C’s, communication, collaboration,

creativity, and critical thinking, go hand in

hand. For students, many of these skills can be

practiced within one project. For example,

communication is an essential function to

successful collaboration with their peers. As an

educator, remember that failure can often be a

positive experience for both yourself and your

students. Learning how to reflect and change

upon what you have implemented is essential,

and provides students with a learning

experience that success often comes from early

failures. Don’t be afraid to take risks!

Slide 7: Assessment

Identification of the correct terms associated

with the 4 C’s

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Slide 8: Learning theories

First, let’s take a look at learning theories that

have developed over the past sixty years. The

three learning theories that we will discuss are

behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

All learning theories can be observed in

classrooms across the country and around the

world today.

Slide 9: Behaviorism

Behaviorism, a learning theory developed by

B.F. Skinner in the 1950s, primarily focuses on

drill and practice in the classroom. Often

through lecture, behaviorism recognizes the

teacher providing students with information

with the expectation that students will then

memorize that information.

Slide 10: Behaviorism (contd)

Narration: As stated earlier, behaviorism often

observes teachers lecturing in a traditional

manner in front of students, often requiring that

students take notes or practice problems

delivered by the teacher. This learning theory

focuses on memorization of the information and

the ability to regurgitate that information in the

future. In relation to 21st century skills,

behaviorism significantly lacks in ability to

develop 21st century skills. With students

unable to take control of their own learning, and

not being provided higher-level thinking skills,

behaviorism does not develop the essential 21st

century skills that students need in order to be

successful in the developing world.

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Slide 11: Cognitivism

Narration: The next learning theory that we will

discuss is cognitivism. A learning theory

develop by Jean Piaget in 1977, cognitivism

focuses on students’ ability to rehearse

information, and through repetition and practice

retain that information by transferring it from

short term memory to long term memory.

Slide 12: Cognitivism (contd)

Narration: Focusing on repetition, and storing

information in long-term memory, cognitivism

seeks to develop critical thinking skills and

problem solving. By providing students with a

higher level of thinking, cognitivism helps

students deal with more complex scenarios that

they would likely deal with in their real-lives.

While cognitivism does develop critical

thinking skills, as a learning theory it does not

fully develop students 21st century skills.

Slide 13: Constructivism

Narration: The learning theory that best

enhances 21st century skills is constructivism.

Constructivism observes three domains:

cognitive, intrapersonal and interpersonal. The

cognitive domain involves reasoning and

memory, the intrapersonal domain includes the

capacity to manage one’s behavior and

emotions to achieve one’s goals, and the

interpersonal domain involves expressing ideas

and interpreting and responding to messages

from others. Collectively, these three domains

in combination with the 4 C’s determine one’s

ability to effectively function not only as an

employee but also as a global citizen.

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Slide 14: Constructivism (contd)

Narration: The constructivist learning theory

helps to develop 21st century skills by giving

learners an opportunity to incorporate their own

creativity and abilities in their learning. Not

only do the three domains previously discussed

focus on the learner’s ability to learn new

information, but to apply that information to

real life where they are able to make personal

connections and think critically to develop real-

world perspectives.

Slide 15: Finding balance

Narration: Ultimately, the three learning

theories discussed are all applicable to

classrooms today, as long as the teacher is able

to find balance. It is important to remember that

traditional teaching practices are not a bad

thing. Traditional practices do have value.

However, it is important as educators to

continuously look at what today’s learners

specifically need, and work to better our own

practices to meet those needs. Remember that

change is not necessarily a bad thing- and you

may be surprised at how many 21st century

practices you may already be implementing

without even knowing. Find what works for

you in your classroom, and keep an open mind

to new practices.

Slide 16: Old Wine in New Bottles Syndrome

Narration: While learning new practices, it is

important to be mindful of what is known as

Old Wine in New Bottles syndrome. Old Wine

in New Bottles syndrome refers to teachers

replacing traditional practices with technology,

without transforming any of the practices

themselves. An example of this would be taking

a worksheet that was previously conducted on

paper, developing an electronic version, and

posting it on a learning management system. In

doing so, there is no transformation of the

teaching practice itself. It is merely replacing

former teaching practices with technology. Be

mindful of this when developing new lessons or

materials, or when recreating lessons previously

taught.

43

Slide 17: Assessment

Learners will be prompted to match the learning

theories with their corresponding descriptions

Slide 18: Communication introduction

Narration: Let’s begin discussing

communication. Following the communication

module, you will be requested to reflect upon

your own teaching practices, and will complete

the reflective assessment before moving

forward to the next skill.

Slide 19: Definition of communication

Narration: By definition, communication is the

exchange of information that primarily focuses

on writing and composition including grammar

and punctuation, as well as oral speech.

Student’s ability to communicate effectively

and confidently in the adult world is an

essential skill in the 21st century.

44

Slide 20: Comfortability

Narration: The first essential component of

communication is comfortability when

speaking. Speaking comfortably refers to the

ability to communicate for a wide array of

purposes with confidence and determination.

Whether in conversation with another person or

small group, or in front of a crowd, a student’s

ability to speak with confidence to convey

important information is essential in effective

communication.

Slide 21: Different media platforms

Narration: Next, communication in different

media platforms is especially important with

today’s evolving technology. Being able to

communicate important information in person,

via phone, and through digital media are

essential forms of effective communication. An

important piece of communicating in a different

digital platform is communicating thoughts and

opinions responsibly. When utilizing social

media in the classroom, it is important to

discuss digital citizenship, and thinking before

posting.

Slide 22: Effective listening

Narration: Just as important as speaking,

effective listening is essential to developing

proper communication skills. In a digital sense,

effective listening may involve students’ ability

to thoroughly read information and interpret the

writer’s opinion or voice. In person, effective

listening involves making proper eye contact,

not interrupting the speaker, engaging in

conversation, and providing feedback when

appropriate.

45

Slide 23: Clear communication

Narration: Clear communication involves the

ability to speak with control, articulate

thoughts, and utilize effective nonverbal skills.

Nonverbal skills include body language such as

posture, eye contact, smiling, nodding, arm and

hand positions, and more. Speaking clearly and

articulating information, perspectives, and

opinions help students to develop the skills

necessary to communicate effectively in

society.

Slide 24: Diverse environments

Narration: One of the more significant

challenges in effective communication is the

ability to speak in diverse environments,

especially if the learner is fluent in only one

language. However, there are many

technological tools available today that can

assist learners in their ability to speak in diverse

environments. Outside of using technology to

translate, body language again plays a key role

in communicating effectively on a global scale.

Nonverbal communication, as discussed

previously, can help to communicate opinions

and information in multicultural and

multilingual environments. One of the great

benefits of technology today is that it presents

opportunities for learners to connect with

students around the globe and develop these

skills prior to entering the working world. For

example, a student can skype with a student

from another country and learn about their

culture and forms of communication to better

understand others.

46


Learners will be prompted to match the

different aspects of communications with their

corresponding descriptions

Slide 26: Classroom implementation

Narration: The following are links to

recommended sites and applications that can

enhance communication skills in your

classroom. Right click on the links below to

open them in a new tab or window, and explore

what options may best suit your lessons. For

more detailed explanations of the following

sites and applications, please refer to the 4 C’s

Google Sheet.

Slide 27: Collaboration introduction

Narration: Next, let’s begin discussing

collaboration. Following the collaboration

module, you will be requested to reflect upon

your own teaching practices, and will complete

the reflective assessment before moving

forward to the next skill.

47

Slide 28: Collaboration definition

Narration: By definition, collaboration is the

use of communication skills to accomplish a

common goal through projective

communication, respect for others, and

teamwork while generating ideas together. A

student’s ability to collaborate responsibly and

effectively with their peers is an essential skill

in the 21st century.

Slide 29: Working with others

Narration: Arguably the most essential

component of collaboration is the ability to

work with other people. Collaboration centers

around a person’s ability to work with one or

more persons on a project or task, and share the

responsibilities of the task and work towards a

common goal. There is an increasing number of

technologies that are either incorporating

collaboration options or working towards

collaborative features. Collaboration focuses at

the learner being able to share projects or tasks

with others, share opinions, and communicate

to complete a task as a team.

Slide 30: Flexibility

Narration: The ability to be flexible and work

through struggles or problems on projects is a

key component to successful collaboration. A

person’s ability to take challenges as they

come, and to adjust to new changes is critical

for productive collaboration efforts. Oftentimes

projects or tasks have unforeseeable events or

road blocks that can make the completion of the

project seem impossible. The ability to set aside

previous expectations and accept change is

what ultimately makes collaborative efforts a

success.

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Slide 31: Sharing responsibility

Narration: Along with the ability to be flexible

with a group, sharing responsibilities for

projects is key to making them a success. One

of the more significant concerns of

implementing 21st century skills and technology

in the classroom is how authentic student work

on collaborative projects can be. In other words,

there is concern on whether or not all

teammates on a project are completing their fair

share of the work, and not claiming others

efforts as their own. While no technology can

necessarily guarantee this from happening,

emerging technologies are seemingly

implementing abilities to evaluate individual

work on collaborative efforts, and so long as

educators continuously emphasize the

importance of sharing responsibilities for

projects, students who are given the opportunity

to collaborate with their peers on projects will

help develop necessary skills that they will use

in the future.


Learners will be prompted to check the correct

responses.


The following are links to recommended sites

and applications that can enhance collaboration

skills in your classroom. Right click on the

links below to open them in a new tab or

window, and explore what options may best

suit your lessons. For more detailed

explanations of the following sites and

applications, please refer to the 4 C’s Google

Sheet.

49

Slide 34: Critical thinking introduction

Narration: Next, let’s discuss critical thinking.

Following the critical thinking module, you will

be requested to reflect upon your own teaching

practices, and will complete the reflective

assessment before moving forward to the next

skill.

Slide 35: Critical thinking definition

Narration: By definition, critical thinking is

problem solving where students are able to

move beyond lower-level thinking and engage

in much deeper and applicable thought which

can be applied to the real world.

Slide 36: Ability to reason

Narration: One of the most crucial aspects of

critical thinking is the ability to reason.

Reasoning involves both inductive and

deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning

involves looking for trends or patterns and

generalizing that information. Deductive

reasoning is taking data or facts set and coming

up with conclusions based on that information.

The ability to reason essentially focuses on a

student’s ability to look at information or data

and come up with conclusions or hypotheses

based on that information. By taking

information and coming up with conclusions,

whether through inductive or deductive

reasoning, students are able to think critically

about real-world situations and apply that to

their everyday lives.

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Slide 37: Comparing evidence

Narration: Another component of critical

thinking is the ability to compare evidence.

Similar to the ability to reason, comparing

evidence is a student’s ability to look at two or

more scenarios or sets of information and make

comparisons about that information. For

example, if a student is required to determine

whether something is true or not, their ability to

read both sides of the argument or claim and

determine the outcome is a way to effectively

compare evidence.

Slide 38: Decision making

Narration: coinciding with reasoning and

comparing evidence, decision making is yet

another essential function of thinking critically.

Part of decision making is the ability to

interpret information and draw conclusions

based on the evidence or information provided.

One important part of teaching decision making

for teachers to remember is that students may

not always make what would have been the

better choice. This is a great learning

opportunity for students to better develop their

critical thinking skills, and know that failure is

a learning opportunity and is not necessarily a

bad thing.

Slide 39: Problem solving

Narration: Lastly, let’s look at problem solving

as one of the essential skills of critical thinking.

Part of problem solving is the ability to identify

and ask questions that clarify points of view

and lead to better solutions. Problem solving

requires a student to interpret information and

draw conclusions that best suit the situation at

hand. Part of problem solving effectively is a

student’s ability to reflect on their own

experiences and determine what the best

possible solution may be.

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Learners will be prompted to select the correct

multiple choice response.



and applications that can enhance critical

thinking skills in your classroom. Right click on

the links below to open them in a new tab or





Sheet.

Slide 42: Creativity introduction

Narration: Finally, let’s discuss creativity.

Following the creativity module, you will be

requested to reflect upon your own teaching

practices, and will complete the reflective

assessment before moving on to the final

reflection portion of the course.

52

Slide 43: Creativity definition

Narration: By definition, creativity is a process

and/or a product, and is generally thought of as

the production of useful solutions to problems,

or novel and effective ideas. Creativity can be

defined in many ways, but it specifically looks

at a student’s ability to create new and

worthwhile ideas that can be used to improve

and maximize creative efforts. Students’ ability

to be creative is an essential skill in the 21st

century.

Slide 44: Innovation

Narration: Developing creative solutions to

real-world problems involves the ability to look

at how creative ideas can become tangible. This

ultimately relies on innovation as part of

creative solutions. Innovation relies on new

methods and ideas as part of a product or

solution. Part of innovation is viewing failure as

an opportunity. Innovation is not a short-term

solution. Innovation relies on the ability to fail,

often times frequently, and develop plans for

success through reflection. Coming up with

new and fresh solutions almost guarantees

failures along the way.

Slide 45: Blending communication and critical

thinking

Narration: Ultimately, creativity is a blending

of communication and critical thinking. As

stated in the National Education Association’s

Guide to the Four C’s, creativity is not only the

ability to demonstrate originality and

inventiveness in work to understand the real

world limits to adopting new ideas, it requires

the ability to be open and responsive to new

and diverse perspectives. Thus, the four C’s

merge together under creativity by including

student’s ability to communicate and think

critically in order to develop creative work.

53


Learners will be prompted to answer a true or

false question



and applications that can enhance creativity

skills in your classroom. Right click on the

links below to open them in a new tab or





Sheet.

Slide 48: Additional resources

Narration: For further information regarding the

4 C’s, or standards for both educators and

students, please refer to the following links.

54

Slide 49: Next steps

Narration: So where do you go from here? Via

Schoology, select the 21st century skill of your

choosing that you would like to implement in

your own classroom. Throughout the course,

you will be asked to submit a lesson plan that

you would like to revamp using information,

apps, websites, or resources provided through

this training. You will be able to select from a

wide range of scholarly and online journals,

participate in staff discussions, and reflect upon

your successes as you navigate your way

through the 4 C’s. Please contact Aileen

Swenson with any further questions regarding

the 4 C’s courses conducted on Schoology.

Thank you for completing this training course.

Good luck to you in your future endeavors with

the 4 C’s!

Product II-Google Sheets Reference Manual

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Chapter 5: Reflections

The completion of my two products helped me better understand the professional

development opportunities that we have within the Albany district, as well as the desire of our

teaching staff to learn more and better their own practices. I was surprised by how many teachers

rely on their own research in their spare time to learn more about new practices and technologies

that can enhance their own teaching. While I found it slightly disappointing that our staff felt that

the district was not meeting their training needs regarding 21st century skills, I was also excited

at the opportunity to provide information and knowledge for our staff to help us reach our district

wide goals of innovation and 21st-century learning.

After viewing the data collected by the BrightBytes survey completed in 2017, I was

happy to see that our school is providing students with adequate internet access and devices. One

of the biggest changes that our district has seen in the last five years is the implementation of

one-to-one devices. Starting in the senior high, the one-to-one initiative began with a Bring Your

Own Device (BYOD) model in grades 9-12, with grades 7-8 sharing carts and computer labs.

Within one school year, we were able to implement one-to-one devices for all seventh graders,

with the carts only needing to be shared with amongst the eighth grade teachers. Finally, we have

reached our goal initiative which was all students 7-12 having a device of their own. With sixth

grade students recently joining our school following a massive construction project, our sixth

grade classrooms are now sharing the carts that were previously used by 7-8 grade. Following

the ladder approach of device distribution, next year every student in the building will have

access to a device of their own. With a great opportunity such as this, our district is now in need

58

of proper training and informational courses regarding 21st century skills for teachers to meet our

student needs.

Although my project is still pending board approval for teaching staff to receive

continuing education credits, I was very happy with the feedback and results received from

fellow staff members. For example, a middle school math instructor made the comment that the

applications sheet helped him find ways to incorporate more creative practices in his math class,

and inspired him to try more project based approaches in a course that is driven primarily by

standard assessments. The head of the music department noted that while he was familiar with

the concept of the 4 C’s, he had never realized that students were actually enhancing 21st century

skills in his classroom. Specifically, he noted that he felt he was lacking his ability to provide

students with authentic scenarios to enhance their critical thinking, but when he was able to

break it down to what that actually looks like, he realized he provides students with more

opportunities to compare evidence and making decisions in composition and musical pieces than

he had originally thought. The feedback that I feel was most significant was in a conversation

with a fellow social studies teacher. After viewing the 21st century skills course and the

applications sheet, he made the comment that although he felt he had a fairly strong grip of what

the 4 C’s are and what they looked like, he was really looking for the more details and specific

examples of what each skills entails, and what different resources are available to improve his

own practices. In that conversation, he felt that he strongly related to the ‘Old Wine in New

Bottles Syndrome’ and that while he felt he was providing students with 21st-century learning

opportunities, he was ultimately recreating the same lessons he had taught in previous years, but

only replacing the delivery method, not transforming the lesson itself.

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The changes that I foresee with the UDUTU course in the future is a more interactive

component for teachers to re-assess their lessons. Our technology integrationist for the district

will be utilizing the UDUTU course created to provide teachers with an initial introduction to the

4 C’s. The staff participating in this training will then complete their lesson recreation via

Schoology, our district’s learning management system. Through this Schoology course, teachers

will be able to share their experiences with other staff members and provide concrete examples

of lessons specific to each of the 21st century skills that they chose. I will be excited to see how

many staff members choose to participate in the initiative, and I am very glad that our school

board was supportive of making this an opportunity for teachers to receiving continuing

education credits, which will hopefully incentivize teachers who otherwise would not have had

interest in voluntarily participating.

In regards to the references sheet that can be shared via Google Docs, I will be anxious to

see staff members add new applications or websites that can be beneficial to others’ classrooms.

Because the sheet can be shared with others and can be edited with permission, this will not only

provide teachers with an opportunity to easily collaborate with one another, but it also provides

teachers with accessibility to websites or apps that they otherwise would have not utilized. In

many conversations regarding what opportunities teachers wish to see, the most frequent

complaint was that teachers did not feel that they had enough time to do individual research, and

they didn’t feel that they were truly aware of how many resources are out there. With the ability

to pin-point a specific skill that they would like to better their own practices for, and be provided

with an immediate list of possible websites or apps to try, the pressure of spending significant

amounts of personal time to investigate a resource that can be used to improve a lesson or project

60

is alleviated. In speaking with one of the three language arts teachers in the middle school, she

stated that she liked how simple and clean the sheet was, and that she enjoyed that she could look

specifically at one skill and see how many different resources could be applied to it. I look

forward to the coming experiences and changes that will be provided through these projects.

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References

Bell, S. (2010). Project-based learning for the 21st century: Skills for the future. Clearing House,

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Breslow, L. (2015). The pedagogy and pleasures of teaching a 21st-century skill. European

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Brusic, S. A., & Shearer, K. L. (2014). The ABCs of 21st century skills (cover story). Children’s

Technology & Engineering, 18(4), 6-10.

Funk, M. E. (2009). Testing the web 2.0 waters. American Libraries, 40(1/2), 48-51.

Geisinger, K. (2016). 21st century skills: What are they and how do we assess them? Applied

Measurement in Education, 29(4), 245-249, DOI: 10.1080/08957347.2016.1209207

Gouseti, A. (2013). ‘Old wine in even newer bottles’: The uneasy relationship between web 2.0

technologies and European school collaboration. European Journal of Education, 48(4),

570-585. Doi:10.1111/ejed.12051

Greenlaw, J. (2015). Deconstructing the metanarrative of the 21st century skills movement.

Educational Philosophy & Theory, 47(9), 894-903. Doi:10.1080/00131857.

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Henriksen, D., Mishra, P., & Fisser, P. (2016). Infusing creativity and technology in 21st century

education: A systemic view for change. Journal of Educational Technology &

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Hilton, M. (2015, Summer). Preparing students for life and work. Issues I Science and

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Hummell, L. (2016). 21st century skills: Critical thinking skills. Children’s Technology &

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International Society for Technology in Education. International Association for Computing in

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educational technology standards (NETS). Eugene, OR: Author.

Karchmer-Klein, R., & Shinas, V. H. (2012). Guiding principles for supporting new literacies in

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Saavedra, A., & Opfer, V. (2012). Learning 21st-century skills requires 21st-century

teaching. The Phi Delta Kappan, 94(2), 8-13. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.

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Siu Cheung, K., Tak-Wai, C., Griffin, P., Ulrich, H., Ronghuai, H., Kinshuk, & … Shengquan,

Y. (2014). E-learning in school education in the coming 10 years for developing 21st

century skills: Critical research issues and policy implications. Journal of Educational

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Smaldino, S. E., Lowther D. L., Russell, J. D., (2012). Understanding 21st century learners.

Instructional technology and media for learning (10th ed., pp. 21-32). London, England,

UK:Pearson.

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technology. Tampa, FL: College of Education, University of South Florida.

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Appendix A: Staff Survey Results

Survey Results

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Appendix B: BrightBytes Survey 2017-Albany Area Schools

Survey Results

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Appendix C: ISTE Standards for Educators

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Documents

Transforming Traditional Teaching Practices with 21st